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Top 5 Food Myths
1. All fats are bad
Saturated fats (butter, fat on meat, pastries and many takeaway foods) should be avoided as these are 'bad' fats. 'Good' fats are sunflower, olive and rapeseed oils and spreads. Children under five have a slightly higher requirement for energy so will need foods that are slightly higher in good fats.
2. Carbohydrates make you fat
A third of our energy (calorie) intake should come from starchy carbohydrate such as potatoes, wholemeal pasta and wholemeal bread. Many of us do not eat enough!
3. Protein should be used as the bulk of every meal
As a nation we tend to eat too much meat instead of filling up on vegetables at meal times. We should aim to have between two to three portions of protein foods per day, think of lentils, beans, fish and poultry as well as meat. Remember, a child's portion of meat should be about half the size of a deck of cards.
4. Sugar should be avoided
Sugar is not bad for you and your children, it is the amount and how often you have it that matters.
Many parents choose low fat products as an alternative but these items are often misleading. A low fat version is not necessarily healthier as it is very likely that the manufacturer will have raised the amount of sugar in the product to make it palatable. Why not buy the 'standard' version but provide a smaller portion?
5. Fruit juices and smoothies can give you your five portions of fruit a day.
Fruit smoothies and milkshakes contain lots of vitamins that are good for our health, especially vitamin C. However, no matter how much you drink, only the first glass of fruit juice (150ml) counts as a portion of fruit. When juice is extracted from the whole fruit or vegetable, it reduces the fibre content and releases a type of sugar from the fruit or veg that can damage teeth, especially if you drink it frequently. 
Look out for products which contain 100% juice rather than squash, juice drinks and those made from concentrate as these are less likely to provide vitamins.
The best advice is to go for a greater proportion of unprocessed foods in your child's diet. They are very unlikely to have had any sugar, fat or salt added to them!
